Muhammad Rauhan Rasheed and Ameer Abdullah Khan
Mr Muhammad Rauhan Rasheed is currently enrolled in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Programme Religious Diversity in a Globalised World (ReD Global) at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and the University of Córdoba, Spain.
Mr Ameer Abdullah Khan is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, and a Doctoral Fellow in International Relations at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad.
DOI: http://DOI Number
Keywords: Kashmir, Nagaland, primordialism, BJP, ethnicity, identity, separatism, India, freedom movements.
Abstract
Amid the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a sharp decline in democratic values has profoundly shaped India’s two most significant conflicts, Kashmir and Nagaland. While Kashmir experienced radical coercive measures, Nagaland witnessed conciliatory attempts. This study examines why these sharply divergent strategies yielded similar outcomes in both regions. It addresses three guiding questions, i.e., what policies has the BJP government adopted in Kashmir and Nagaland since 2014? how effective have these policies been in reducing separatist demands? and finally, how do primordial attachments explain the limited success of both coercion and conciliation? Using a descriptive and qualitative approach, the paper applies the theoretical lens of primordialism to analyse geography, culture, religion and lineage as enduring sources of identity in both the regions. It argues that though primordial ties do not directly produce separatism, they condition the reception of state strategies, constraining their legitimacy and effectiveness. In Kashmir, coercion exacerbated alienation, while in Nagaland, conciliation without symbolic recognition left unmet the aspirations of the people. The comparative analysis demonstrates that primordial attachments act as structural limits within which state power operates, explaining why policies that ignore deep-rooted identities are unlikely to achieve lasting integration.
First Published
December 25, 2025
How to Cite
Muhammad Rauhan Rasheed and Ameer Abdullah Khan, “A Primordial Investigation of India’s Kashmir and Nagaland Conflicts: Appraising The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Policies Since 2014,” Regional Studies 43, no.2 (Winter 2025): 89-117, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/a-primordial-investigation-of-indias-kashmir-and-nagaland-conflictsappraising-the-bharatiya-janatapartys-policies-since-2014/
Issue
Volume 43, Issue 2